Early 19th
century

The area to become Wakulla County was an active place in the
early 1800s. A former British officer named William Augustus Bowles
attempted to unify and lead 400 Creek Indians against the Spanish
outpost of San Marcos capturing it. This provoked Spain and a Spanish flotilla arrived some 5 weeks
later and assumed control of San Marcos. In 1818, General Andrew
Jackson invaded the territory (Wakulla) taking control of San
Marcos. Two captured British citizens, Robert Ambrister
and Alexander Arbuthnot, were tried and found guilty of inciting
Indian raids and executed causing a diplomatic nightmare between
the United
States and England. In
1821, Florida was ceded to the United States and the San Marcos was
occupied by U.S. troops. In 1824, the fort was abandoned and turned
over to the Territory of
Florida. By 1839, the fort was returned to the U.S. and a
federal marine hospital was built. The hospital provided care for
victims of yellow fever in the area.

Forts of
Wakulla County

1840 - Camp Lawson, northwest of Wakulla and northeast of Ivan,
on the St. Marks River. A log stockade also known as Fort Lawson
(2).

Antebellum
Wakulla

Wakulla County was created in 1843. It may (although this is
disputed) be named for the TimucuanIndian word for
"spring of water" or "mysterious water." This is in reference to
Wakulla County's greatest natural attraction, Wakulla
Springs, which is one of the world's largest freshwater springs, both in terms of depth and water
flow. In 1974, the water flow was measured at 1.23 billion gallons
per day—the greatest recorded flow ever for a single spring.

In an 1856 book, adventurer Charles Lanman wrote of the
springs:

"An adequate idea of this mammoth spring could never be given by
pen or pencil; but when once seen, on a bright calm day, it must
ever after be a thing to dream about and love. It is the
fountain-head of a river... and is of sufficient volume to float a
steamboat, if such an affair had yet dared to penetrate this solemn
wilderness... It wells up in the very heart of a dense cypress
swamp, is nearly round in shape, measures some four hundred feet in
diameter, and is in depth about one hundred and fifty feet, having
at its bottom an immense horizontal chasm, with a dark portal, from
one side of which looms up a limestone cliff, the summit of which
is itself nearly fifty feet beneath the spectator, who gazes upon
it from the sides of a tiny boat. The water is so astonishlingly
clear that even a pin can be seen on the bottom in the deepest
places, and of course every animate and inanimate object which it
contains is fully exposed to view. The apparent color of the water
from the shore is greenish, but as you look prependicularly into
it, it is colorless as air, and the sensation of floating upon it
is that of being suspended in a balloon; and the water is so
refractive, that when the sun shines brilliantly every object you
see is enveloped in the most fascinating prismatic hues."

Another possible origin for the name Wakulla, not as widely
accepted, is that it means "mist" or "misting", perhaps in
reference to the Wakulla Volcano, a 19th century
phenomenon in which a column of smoke could be seen emerging from
the swamp for miles.

Civil War

During the Civil War, Wakulla County was partly
involved. From 1861-1865 a Union squadron blockaded the mouth of
the St. Marks River. Confederates took the old Spanish fort site
known as San Marcos de
Apalache and renamed it Fort Ward. The Battle of Natural Bridge
eventually stopped the Union force that intended to take Fort
Ward.

Etymology

The name Wakulla is corrupted from Guacara.
Guacara is a Spanish phonetic spelling of an
original Indian name, and Wakulla is a Muskhogean pronunciation of
Guacara. The Spanish Gua is the equivalent of the
Creekwa, and as the Creek alphabet does not exhibit an "R"
sound, the second element cara would have been pronounced
kala by the Creeks. The Creek voiceless "L" is always
substituted for the Spanish "R". Thus the word Guacara was
pronounced Wakala by the Seminoles who are
Muskhogean in their origin and language.

Since Wakulla was probably a Timucuan word, it is unlikely that its meaning
will ever be known. It may contain the word kala which
signified a "spring of water" in some Indian dialects.[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the
county has a total area of 736 square miles (1,906 km²),
of which, 607 square miles (1,571 km²) of it is land and
129 square miles (334 km²) of it (17.54%) is water.

There were 8,450 households out of which 35.60% had children
under the age of 18 living with them, 57.10% were married couples living
together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present,
and 26.20% were non-families. 22.00% of all households were made up
of individuals and 7.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years
of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the
average family size was 2.99. In the county the population was
spread out with 25.60% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24,
31.70% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 10.30% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100
females there were 107.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and
over, there were 106.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,149, and
the median income for a family was $42,222. Males had a median
income of $29,845 versus $24,330 for females. The per capita
income for the county was $17,678. About 9.30% of families and
11.30% of the population were below the poverty line,
including 15.40% of those under age 18 and 15.10% of those age 65
or over.

Places

Incorporated

Unincorporated

Wakulla County stands out in one statistical category: there is
a near-absence of any municipal population in this county of
perhaps 27,000. Two tiny municipalities hold maybe 3 percent of the
population. The county seat, Crawfordville, is the only
unincorporated county seat among Florida's 67 counties, and, lying
only 20 miles from Tallahassee, that district has grown
dramatically in recent years to an extraordinarily large and dense
population for a "rural" place not touching or having any
continuity with any incorporated town. The Crawfordville population
center may now have 12-18,000 inhabitants in 10-20 square
miles.

Airports

Seaports

St.
Marks is a small commercial seaport, which in the past was of
some minor importance in the oil industry, however it is currently used
primarily by commercial fishermen and
recreational boaters. Panacea and Ochlockonee Bay also support small fishing
fleets.

Education

Wakulla County is served by the Wakulla school district with the
following schools[9]:

The former Sopchoppy Elementary School now serves as the
Sopchoppy Education Center, a Pre-K, adult,and second chance
school. Wakulla County's Schools have long been regarded as some of
the state's best.

This article requires significantly more historical detail on the particular phases of this location's historical development. The ideal article for a place will give the reader a feel for what it was like to live at that location at the time their relatives were alive there..
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Wakulla County, Florida

File:Wakulla County Fl Seal.png

Map

File:Map of Florida highlighting Wakulla County.png
Location in the state of Florida

Early 19th century

The area to become Wakulla County was an active place in the early 1800s. A former British officer named William Augustus Bowles attempted to unify and lead 400 Creek Indians against the Spanish outpost of San Marcos capturing it. This provoked Spain and a Spanish flotilla arrived some 5 weeks later and assumed control of San Marcos. In 1818, General Andrew Jackson invaded the territory (Wakulla) taking control of San Marcos. Two captured British citizens, Robert Ambrister and Alexander Arbuthnot, were tried and found guilty of inciting Indian raids and executed causing a diplomatic nightmare between the United States and England. In 1821, Florida was ceded to the United States and the San Marcos was occupied by U.S. troops. In 1824, the fort was abandoned and turned over to the Territory of Florida. By 1839, the fort was returned to the U.S. and a federal marine hospital was built. The hospital provided care for victims of yellow fever in the area.

Forts of Wakulla County

1840 - Camp Lawson, northwest of Wakulla and northeast of Ivan, on the St. Marks River. A log stockade also known as Fort Lawson (2).

Antebellum Wakulla

Wakulla County was created in 1843. It may (although this is disputed) be named for the TimucuanIndian word for "spring of water" or "mysterious water." This is in reference to Wakulla County's greatest natural attraction, Wakulla Springs, which is one of the world's largest freshwater springs, both in terms of depth and water flow. In 1974, the water flow was measured at 1.23 billion gallons per day—the greatest recorded flow ever for a single spring.

In an 1856 book, adventurer Charles Lanman wrote of the springs: ==Caption== {{{caption}}}

Summary

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The follwing user contributed to that page: {{{user}}}.

Licecing

Another possibile origin for the name Wakulla, not as widely accepted, is that it means "mist" or "misting", perhaps in reference to the Wakulla Volcano, a 19th century phenomenon in which a column of smoke could be seen emerging from the swamp for miles.

Etymology

The name Wakulla is corrupted from Guacara. Guacara is a Spanish phonetic spelling of an original Indian name, and Wakulla is a Muskhogean pronunciation of Guacara. The Spanish Gua is the equivalent of the Creekwa, and as the Creek alphabet does not exhibit an "R" sound, the second element cara would have been pronounced kala by the Creeks. The Creek voiceless "L" is always substituted for the Spanish "R". Thus the word Guacara was pronounced Wakala by the Seminoles who are Muskhogean in their origin and language.

Since Wakulla was probably a Timucuan word, it is unlikely that its meaning will ever be known. It may contain the word kala which signified a "spring of water" in some Indian dialects.[2]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,906 km² (736 sq mi). 1,571 km² (607 sq mi) of it is land and 334 km² (129 sq mi) of it (17.54%) is water.

There were 8,450 households out of which 35.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.10% were married couples living together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.20% were non-families. 22.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county the population was spread out with 25.60% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 31.70% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 10.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 107.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,149, and the median income for a family was $42,222. Males had a median income of $29,845 versus $24,330 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,678. About 9.30% of families and 11.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.40% of those under age 18 and 15.10% of those age 65 or over.

Places

Incorporated

Unincorporated

Wakulla County stands out in one statistical category: there is a near-absence of any municipal population in this county of perhaps 27,000. Two tiny municipalities hold maybe 3 percent of the population. The county seat, Crawfordville, is the only unincorporated county seat among Florida's 67 counties, and, lying only 20 miles from Tallahassee, that district has grown dramatically in recent years to an extraordinarily large and dense population for a "rural" place not touching or having any continuity with any incorporated town. The Crawfordville population center may now have 12-18,000 inhabitants in 10-20 square miles.

Airports

Seaports

St. Marks is a small commercial seaport, which in the past was of some minor importance in the oil industry, however it is currently used primarily by commercial fishermen and recreational boaters. Panacea and Ochlockonee Bay also support small fishing fleets.

This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Wakulla County, Florida. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.

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